- New York Rep. Elise Stefanik appears poised to succeed Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney as the House Republican Conference Chair, but has a far less conservative voting record and voted with former President Donald Trump less of the time.
- Stefanik voted with the former president 77.7% of the time, according to a tool on FiveThirtyEight, which was one of the lowest ratings among Republicans throughout his term. Cheney however, voted with Trump 92.9% of the time.
- Stefanik defended her record Thursday, saying that the GOP’s future electoral success is dependent on working Trump: “My vision is to run with support from the president and his coalition of voters,” she said. “I’m committed to being a voice and sending a clear message that we are one team.”
New York Rep. Elise Stefanik appears poised to succeed Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney as the House Republican Conference chair, but has a far less conservative voting record and voted with former President Donald Trump less often than her rival.
Stefanik, who gained support from both House Republican leadership and Trump himself this week, voted with the former president 77.7% of the time, according to a tool on FiveThirtyEight, which was one of the lowest ratings among Republicans throughout his term. Cheney however, voted with Trump 92.9% of the time, despite repeatedly condemning his false claims that the 2020 election was rigged and voting to impeach him following the Capitol riot in January.
Cheney also received a much higher score from Heritage Action and the Conservative Political Action Conference than Stefanik during the last Congress. While Cheney received 91% and 78% scores from the two high-profile conservative groups, Stefanik received scores of 56% and 44%, respectively.
Stefanik also worked across the aisle at a far higher rate than Cheney. According to the Lugar Center, which ranks members by their bipartisan tendencies each Congress, Stefanik was the 13th most willing to work with the opposite party, compared to Cheney, who ranked 421st. (RELATED: Despite Raging Partisan Gridlock, These Lawmakers Are Still Willing To Work Across The Aisle)
The conservative Club for Growth also came out against Stefanik’s leadership bid Thursday, saying that she would “NOT” be a good spokesperson for the GOP and accusing her of being a “liberal,” despite her strong support of Trump and his endorsement of her.
Stefanik defended her record on Steven Bannon’s “War Room Pandemic” podcast Thursday, and said that the GOP’s future electoral success is dependent on working with the former president.
“My vision is to run with support from the president and his coalition of voters,” she said. “I’m committed to being a voice and sending a clear message that we are one team and that means working with the president,” she added, referring to Trump.
Spokespersons for both Cheney and Stefanik declined to comment to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Rep. Liz Cheney heads to the House floor on February 03, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
Stefanik’s 21st congressional district is far more moderate than Wyoming, which gave Trump the largest margin of victory of any state. She is also incredibly popular in her district, having won by double-digits since she first flipped the upstate New York seat in 2014 and maintaining an A+ rating from the National Rifle Association.
She emerged as an ardent Trump defender during his first set of impeachment hearings in the fall of 2019, repeatedly sparring with California Rep. Adam Schiff while criticizing the merits of the case. During the hearings Trump even labeled her a “new Republican star.”
Stefanik has also been a leading critic of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, calling for his prosecution after it was revealed that his administration knowingly undercounted the state’s nursing home deaths from coronavirus.
Cheney, who overwhelmingly survived a secret ballot election in February to oust her from Republican leadership, has since seemingly lost the support of much of her caucus, largely due to her willingness to denounce Trump’s false claims of a rigged election and her urging the GOP to move on from him. She authored a Washington Post op-ed Wednesday warning that the nation is watching the GOP, and that Republicans must decide whether they are going to “choose truth and fidelity to the Constitution.” (RELATED: Cheney Not Ruling Out A 2024 Presidential Bid)
Her support began to erode Monday after she directly responded to Trump’s baseless allegation that the election was “fraudulent.”
“The 2020 presidential election was not stolen,” Cheney wrote on Twitter. “Anyone who claims it was is spreading THE BIG LIE, turning their back on the rule of law, and poisoning our democratic system.”
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